The newest Dalton State basketball players are on campus. Seated are Dalton State head coach Tony Ingle (c) is with Tony Ingle Jr. and John Redmond Standing from left: Danny Alston II, Jamaine Burrey, Chris Jones, Clynt Bell, Dashan Ruffin, and Isaiah Mossey.
Dalton State basketball coaches introduced the six newest Roadrunners and released the 2014-2015 schedule during a booster club meeting this week in the Family Life Center of First Baptist Church of Dalton.
Senior Isaiah Mossey is a 6’8” transfer from Louisiana Tech in Rustin. The native of McDonough, Ga played in 31 games, starting three, last season for the Bulldogs.
Louisiana Tech tied the program’s single season best record (29-7) in 2013-2014. They lost to Florida State 78-75 in the quarter final round of the National Invitational Tournament. The NIT run included a 79-71 win in Athens over Georgia.
Mossey averaged 18.6 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 4 assists as a senior at Union Grove High School.
Dalton State added three players from junior college programs.
Danny Alston II is a 6’1” junior from Fond Du Lac Tribal College (7-19) in Cloquet, MN. He was a member of the 2013-2014 MCAC All-Northern Division team. He is a graduate of First Coast High School in Jacksonville, FL.
Alston averaged 20 points and five rebounds as a high school senior. He also connected on an impressive 55% from beyond the arc and hit 82% of his free throws.
Chris Jones is a 6’2” junior from Southwest Mississippi Community College (12-13) in Summit, MS. He averaged 12.9 points last season for the Bears.
Jones averaged 16.4 points per game while a senior at Briarcrest Christian in Memphis. He also hit 88% of free throws and 40% of three point shots for the Saints. He was best of preps for three of his four years of high school finishing as district MVP and a member of the school’s 1,000 point club.
The most notable alumni of Briarcrest Christian is Ole Miss and NFL offensive lineman Michael Oher.
Jamaine Burrey is a 6’2” junior from Florida State College (13-18) in Jacksonville, FL. He is a graduate of Hardaway High in Columbus, Ga where he averaged 26.7points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 2.3 steals per game.
Roadrunner coaches signed two talented freshmen.
Clynt Bell is a 5’10” guard from Dade County High School in Trenton, Ga. He was the Chattanooga area’s leading scorer for 2013-2014.
Averaging 28.5 points per game as a senior, Bell finished his high school career with 1,800 points – 799 of those as a senior. He hit an estimated 408 career threes. Last season, Bell was 40.1% (145/362) from the 3-point line and shot 78.8% (134/170) from the charity stripe.
Deshawn Ruffin is a 6’ point guard from The Bolles School (26-1) in Jacksonville, FL. He was captain of the school’s first ever basketball team with an undefeated regular season.
The Bulldogs led the Jacksonville area with just 34.7 points allowed per game. Ruffin averaged eight assists, 9.5 point, and four steals per game.
The Bolles School has had an alumnus or a current student compete in the Olympic Games every year since 1972. Former Atlanta Braves star Chipper Jones is also a Bolles graduate.
The Roadrunners lost three seniors from last year’s 26-4 team.
The Returning Players
Leading scorer Ricky Sears tallied 486 points (16.2 Average per game). Demetrice Jacobs was the team’s leading rebounder with 229 (a 7.6 average). Desmond Phillips came off the bench with senior leadership.
A lot of great talent is returning this season. Sean Tate (Canton, Ga), Preston Earle (Charlotte, NC), LaDaris Green (Savannah, Ga), Raheem Mosley (Bessemer, AL), Anthony Hilliard (Greenville, NC), and Dylan Smith (Winfield, AL) will be seniors.
Nate Terry (Niceville, FL) and Jordan Bowling (Somerville, AL) will be our junior returners. Monolito Hamilton (Deland, FL) and Jerrico Williams (Norcross, Ga) will be sophomores.
The Season
The 2014-2015 season will begin on Monday, November 10.
The Roadrunners travel to Marietta to battle Life University.
The Birds then come home on November 11th to host Erskine College of Due West, SC. At 7:30 p.m. The first SSAC game will be in Montgomery, Al against Faulkner University on Friday, November 21 at 7:30 p.m. CDT
2014-2015 Dalton State Basketball Schedule
Date and Time Opponent Location
Nov. 10 Monday 7:30 p.m. ET Life University Marietta, Ga
Nov. 11 Tuesday 7:30 p.m. ET Erskine College Home-Trade Center
Nov. 15 Saturday TBD Morris College Home-Trade Center
Nov. 18 Tuesday 7:00 p.m. ET Hiwassee College Madisonville, TN
Nov. 21 Friday 7:30 p.m. CT Faulkner University * Montgomery, Al
Nov. 25 Tuesday 7:30 p.m. ET Tennessee Temple Home-Trade Center
Nov. 28 Friday 7:30 p.m. CT William Carey University * Hattiesburg, MS
Nov. 29 Saturday 5:00 p.m. CT Loyola University * New Orleans, LA
Dec. 6 Saturday 2:00 p.m. ET Hiwassee College Home-Trade Center
Dec. 16 Tuesday 7:00 p.m. ET Tennessee Temple Chattanooga, TN
Roadrunner Booster Club Classic
Dec. 19 Friday 8:00 p.m. ET Dalton State/Cumberland U (TN) Trade Center
6:00 p.m. ET Concordia/Cumberlands (KY)
Dec. 20 Saturday 4:00 p.m. ET Dalton State/Cumberlands (KY) Trade Center
Dec. 20 Saturday 2:00 p.m. ET Cumberland U (TN)/Concordia
Jan. 2 Friday 7:30 p.m. ET University of Mobile * Home-Trade Center
Jan. 3 Saturday 5:00 p.m. ET Belhaven University * Home-Trade Center
Jan. 6 Tuesday 7:30 p.m. ET Life University Home-Trade Center
Jan. 9 Friday 7:30 p.m. ET Auburn of Montgomery * Home-Trade Center
Jan. 17 Saturday 5:00 p.m. ET Middle Georgia College Cochran, Ga
Jan. 22 Thursday 7:30 p.m. CT Martin Methodist * Pulaski, TN
Jan. 29 Thursday 7:30 p.m. ET Blue Mountain College * Home-Trade Center
Jan. 31 Saturday 5:00 p.m. ET Bethel University * Home-Trade Center
Feb. 5 Thursday 7:30 p.m. ET Brewton Parker College * Mt. Vernon, Ga
Feb. 7 Saturday 5:00 p.m. ET College of Coastal Georgia * Brunswick, Ga
Feb. 9 Monday 7:00 p.m. ET Erskine College Due West, SC
Feb. 12 Thursday 7:30 p.m. ET Middle Georgia College * Home-Trade Center
Feb. 14 Saturday 7:30 p.m. ET Martin Methodist College * Home-Trade Center
Feb. 16 Monday 7:00 p.m. ET Morris College Sumter, SC
Feb. 19 Thursday 7:30 p.m. CT Blue Mountain College * Blue Mountain, MS
Feb. 21 Saturday 5:00 p.m. CT Bethel University * McKenzie, TN
Feb. 26 Thursday 7:30 p.m. ET College of Coastal Georgia * Home-Trade Center
Feb. 28 Saturday 5:00 p.m. ET Brewton Parker College * Home-Trade Center
March 4-7 TBD Southern States Tournament Montgomery, AL March 18-24 TBD NAIA National Tournament Kansas City, MO
* = SSAC opponent